Operation Carthage — A group that had recruited law enforcement officers has been exposed
NABU and the SAP announced that they had uncovered a criminal organization that systematically paid bribes to high-ranking law enforcement officials. According to investigators, in exchange for this money, members of the group were able to conduct illegal business unhindered—ranging from fraudulent call centers to drug sales and the production of counterfeit currency. According to anti-corruption agencies, the organization consisted of at least 12 people.
The operation was named “Carthage.” According to the NABU and the SAP, members of the criminal organization established a system for providing illicit benefits to officials who were supposed to protect them from law enforcement intervention. These included high-ranking officials from the Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the National Police.
According to the investigation, the group was organized by a man who had been convicted multiple times in the past. He recruited not only law enforcement officials but also individuals from the criminal underworld to participate in the criminal activities. Together, they created a system that allowed the illegal business to operate under the cover of those who were supposed to be stopping such crimes.
What Illegal Businesses Did the Group Engage In?
Among the organization’s main areas of activity were fraudulent call centers. Their employees defrauded Ukrainian citizens and foreigners. Thanks to agreements with law enforcement officials, the group’s members were able to continue these activities unhindered. According to the NABU and the SAP, the organization was also involved in the sale of narcotics. Another area of activity was the illegal production of counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit foreign currency.
However, the group’s activities were not limited to financial crimes and illicit trade. The investigation established that its members also organized premeditated attacks, kidnappings, and assaults. According to anti-corruption agencies, these actions were carried out in the interests of the criminal organization itself.
Who Was Part of the Criminal Organization
According to preliminary data from NABU and the SAPO, at least 12 people were involved in the group. Among them were the organizer, members of the criminal underworld, and current high-ranking officials from several law enforcement agencies. Thus, the investigation is examining not only the activities of those directly involved in the illegal business but also the possible involvement of officials who were supposed to provide them with protection. According to the investigation, it was precisely the systematic payment of bribes and the abuse of official positions that allowed the organization to operate for such a long time.
Currently, NABU and the SAP have reported the dismantling of a criminal organization as part of Operation “Carthage.” At the same time, all the circumstances described above represent the investigators’ version of events. The guilt of specific individuals must be established by a court. This was reported by .
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have announced that they have placed the former head of one of the departments of the Office of the Prosecutor General under suspicion. He is suspected of participating in a criminal organization uncovered during the large-scale special operation “Carthage,” which involved the illegal “protection” of fraudulent call centers.
As a reminder, the dismissed head of a division at the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Viktoria Didych—who is the sister of Serhiy Kropiva — the main suspect in the NABU “Carthage” investigation — was involved in a “crackdown” on a chicken producer in the Cherkasy region.
As a reminder, Kropiva’s driver was released from pretrial detention on bail of 3 million hryvnias in the “Carthage” case.
A prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) denied that Kropiva was on a business trip to Lviv.
Prosecutor Kropiva, a figure in the NABU investigation, secured a pension of 300,000 at the age of 42 through the courts.
